Games are played by everyone- but they’re often designed with few sorts of players in mind. Despite games hitting the mainstream, many people still find them dreadfully boring. In this talk we’re going back to the basics of video games: Why do people play? Who do we call ‘gamers’? What even is a game, anyway? I’ll explore what it means to make and play games in a world that’s slowly realising not all gamers are 18-year-old American boys, and how I design games with empathy so that everyone (and their mum!) loves to play.

About the speaker

Gamers are not who you think

Games are played by everyone- but they’re often designed with few sorts of players in mind. Despite games hitting the mainstream, many people still find them dreadfully boring. In this talk we’re going back to the basics of video games: Why do people play? Who do we call ‘gamers’? What even is a game, anyway? I’ll explore what it means to make and play games in a world that’s slowly realising not all gamers are 18-year-old boys; how I design games with empathy so that everyone (and their mum!) loves to play; and how you can bring playful, empathic design to your work, no matter what you create.

Caitlin Goodale is a self-titled design dilettante, working across user experience design, illustration and user research. After studying Computer Arts at Abertay University she moved to Malmö to work as a UX Designer at King, where she helps to craft mobile games with mass appeal. Having worked on everything from Paint3D and Hololens at Microsoft, to Minecraft’s console editions, she is passionate about accessibility and bringing play to everyday interactions. Outside of the office she’s an avid rock climber, yogi and Antiques Roadshow enthusiast.